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Drink almost killed me this time, admits Gascoigne

Troubled former England star is still having treatment for alcohol and drug problems but he vows to fight for full recovery

The Sunday Times

March 3 2013, 1:45pm, The Sunday Times

Paul Gascoigne was visibly distressed at a charity function in January (Pete Norton)

PAUL GASCOIGNE has admitted that he almost died after his latest drinking binge. The former Tottenham, Newcastle and England midfielder was in such a bad way in January that celebrity friends chipped in to pay for his £6,000-a-week treatment in a leading United States clinic.

Gascoigne is expected to be alone for two months during his rehabilitation but Jimmy "Five Bellies" Gardner, his boyhood friend from Newcastle, said the 45-year-old confessed to him: "The drink nearly finished me off this time", while insisting that he was now determined to end his slide towards self-destruction.

According to Gardner, Gascoigne said: "I know I’ve never been as bad as this before but I’m not ready to give up the fight. I’m getting better now. I’m not there…

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